The Accomplishments of President Donald J. Trump

In just the first 21 months of the Trump administration, as of October 2018, The Washington Examiner listed these accomplishments by President Trump:

Economic Growth

• 4.2 percent growth in the second quarter of 2018.
• For the first time in more than a decade, growth is projected to exceed 3 percent over the calendar year.

Jobs

• 4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.
• More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.
• Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.
• The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.
• Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.
• Unemployment claims at 50 year low
• African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.
• African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.
• Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.
• Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.
• Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.
• Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.
• Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.
• July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.
• Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.
• July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.
• Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.
• Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.
• Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.
• Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”
• 68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.
• Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.
• Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.
• Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.
• Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.
• Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.
• 100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.

American Income

• Median household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.
• Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.
• Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.
• Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.
• Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.
• Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.
• Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.
• Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.

American Optimism

• Small business optimism has hit historic highs.
• NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.
• SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.
• Manufacturers are more confident than ever.
• 95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.
• Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.
• 12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.
• Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.

American Business

• Investment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.
• Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.
• Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.
• ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.
• Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.
• Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.
• Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NASDAQ have all notched record highs.
• Dow hit record highs 70 times in 2017 alone, the most ever recorded in one year.

Deregulation

• Achieved massive deregulation at a rapid pace, completing 22 deregulatory actions to every one regulatory action during his first year in office.
• Signed legislation to roll back costly and harmful provisions of Dodd-Frank, providing relief to credit unions, and community and regional banks.
• Federal agencies achieved more than $8 billion in lifetime net regulatory cost savings.
• Rolled back Obama’s burdensome Waters of the U.S. rule.
• Used the Congressional Review Act to repeal regulations more times than in history.

Tax Cuts

• Biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into law
• Provided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.
• Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.
• Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.
• Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.
• Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.
• Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.
• Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.
• Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.
• 9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.
• More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.
• Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
• Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.
• Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.

Worker Development

• Established a National Council for the American Worker to develop a national strategy for training and retraining America’s workers for high-demand industries.
• Employers have signed Trump’s “Pledge to America’s Workers,” committing to train or retrain more than 4.2 million workers and students.
• Signed the first Perkins CTE reauthorization since 2006, authorizing more than $1 billion for states each year to fund vocational and career education programs.
• Executive order expanding apprenticeship opportunities for students and workers.

Domestic Infrastructure

• Proposed infrastructure plan would utilize $200 billion in Federal funds to spur at least $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investment across the country.
• Executive order expediting environmental reviews and approvals for high priority infrastructure projects.
• Federal agencies have signed the One Federal Decision Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) streamlining the federal permitting process for infrastructure projects.
• Rural prosperity task force and signed an executive order to help expand broadband access in rural areas.

Health Care

• Signed an executive order to help minimize the financial burden felt by American households
• Signed legislation to improve the National Suicide Hotline.
• Signed the most comprehensive childhood cancer legislation ever into law, which will advance childhood cancer research and improve treatments.
• Signed Right-to-Try legislation, expanding health care options for terminally ill patients.
• Enacted changes to the Medicare 340B program, saving seniors an estimated $320 million on drugs in 2018 alone.
• FDA set a new record for generic drug approvals in 2017, saving consumers nearly $9 billion.
• Released a blueprint to drive down drug prices for American patients, leading multiple major drug companies to announce they will freeze or reverse price increases.
• Expanded short-term, limited-duration health plans.
• Let more employers to form Association Health Plans, enabling more small businesses to join together and affordably provide health insurance to their employees.
• Cut Obamacare’s burdensome individual mandate penalty.
• Signed legislation repealing Obamacare’s Independent Payment Advisory Board, also known as the “death panels.”
• USDA invested more than $1 billion in rural health care in 2017, improving access to health care for 2.5 million people in rural communities across 41 states
• Proposed Title X rule to help ensure taxpayers do not fund the abortion industry in violation of the law.
• Reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy to keep foreign aid from supporting the global abortion industry.
• HHS formed a new division over protecting the rights of conscience and religious freedom.
• Overturned Obama administration’s midnight regulation prohibiting states from defunding certain abortion facilities.
• Signed executive order to help ensure that religious organizations are not forced to choose between violating their religious beliefs by complying with Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate or shutting their doors.

Combating Opioids

• Chaired meeting the 73rd General Session of the United Nations discussing the worldwide drug problem with international leaders.
• Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand, introducing new measures to keep dangerous drugs out of our communities.
• $6 billion in new funding to fight the opioid epidemic.
• DEA conducted a surge in April 2018 that arrested 28 medical professions and revoked 147 registrations for prescribing too many opioids.
• Brought the “Prescribed to Death” memorial to President’s Park near the White House, helping raise awareness about the human toll of the opioid crisis.
• Helped reduce high-dose opioid prescriptions by 16 percent in 2017.
• Opioid Summit on the administration-wide efforts to combat the opioid crisis.
• Launched a national public awareness campaign about the dangers of opioid addiction.
• Created a Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis which recommended a number of pathways to tackle the opioid crisis.
• Led two National Prescription Drug Take Back Days in 2017 and 2018, collecting a record number of expired and unneeded prescription drugs each time.
• $485 million targeted grants in FY 2017 to help areas hit hardest by the opioid crisis.
• Signed INTERDICT Act, strengthening efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids before they reach our communities.
• DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
• Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
• Declared the opioid crisis a Nationwide Public Health Emergency in October 2017.

Law and Order

• More U.S. Circuit Court judges confirmed in the first year in office than ever.
• Confirmed more than two dozen U. S. Circuit Court judges.
• Followed through on the promise to nominate judges to the Supreme Court who will adhere to the Constitution
• Nominated and confirmed Justice Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
• Signed an executive order directing the Attorney General to develop a strategy to more effectively prosecute people who commit crimes against law enforcement officers.
• Launched an evaluation of grant programs to make sure they prioritize the protection and safety of law enforcement officers.
• Established a task force to reduce crime and restore public safety in communities across
• Signed an executive order to focus more federal resources on dismantling transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels.
• Signed an executive order to focus more federal resources on dismantling transnational criminal organizations such as drug cartels.
• Violent crime decreased in 2017 according to FBI statistics.
• $137 million in grants through the COPS Hiring Program to preserve jobs, increase community policing capacities, and support crime prevention efforts.
• Enhanced and updated the Project Safe Neighborhoods to help reduce violent crime.
• Signed legislation making it easier to target websites that enable sex trafficking and strengthened penalties for people who promote or facilitate prostitution.
• Created an interagency task force working around the clock to prosecute traffickers, protect victims, and prevent human trafficking.
• Conducted Operation Cross Country XI to combat human trafficking, rescuing 84 children and arresting 120 human traffickers.
• Encouraged federal prosecutors to use the death penalty when possible in the fight against the trafficking of deadly drugs.
• New rule effectively banning bump stock sales in the United States.

Border Security and Immigration

• Secured $1.6 billion for border wall construction in the March 2018 omnibus bill.
• Construction of a 14-mile section of border wall began near San Diego.
• Worked to protect American communities from the threat posed by the vile MS-13 gang.
• ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division arrested 796 MS-13 members and associates in FY 2017, an 83 percent increase from the prior year.
• Justice worked with partners in Central America to secure criminal charges against more than 4,000 MS-13 members.
• Border Patrol agents arrested 228 illegal aliens affiliated with MS-13 in FY 2017.
• Fighting to stop the scourge of illegal drugs at our border.
• ICE HSI seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in FY 2017, including 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin.
• ICE HSI dedicated nearly 630,000 investigative hours towards halting the illegal import of fentanyl.
• ICE HSI made 11,691 narcotics-related arrests in FY 2017.
• Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand introduced new measures to keep dangerous drugs out the United States.
• Signed the INTERDICT Act into law, enhancing efforts to detect and intercept synthetic opioids.
• DOJ secured its first-ever indictments against Chinese fentanyl manufacturers.
• DOJ launched their Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) team, aimed at disrupting online illicit opioid sales.
• Released an immigration framework that includes the resources required to secure our borders and close legal loopholes, and repeatedly called on Congress to fix our broken immigration laws.
• Authorized the deployment of the National Guard to help secure the border.
• Enhanced vetting of individuals entering the U.S. from countries that don’t meet security standards, helping to ensure individuals who pose a threat to our country are identified before they enter.
• These procedures were upheld in a June 2018 Supreme Court hearing.
• ICE removed over 226,000 illegal aliens from the United States in 2017.
• ICE rescued or identified over 500 human trafficking victims and over 900 child exploitation victims in 2017 alone.
• In 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with criminal convictions or charges, responsible for
• Over 76,000 with dangerous drug offenses.More than 48,000 with assault offenses.
• More than 11,000 with weapons offenses.
• More than 5,000 with sexual assault offenses.
• More than 2,000 with kidnapping offenses.
• Over 1,800 with homicide offenses.
• Created the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office in order to support the victims and families affected by illegal alien crime.
• More than doubled the number of counties participating in the 287(g) program, which allows jails to detain criminal aliens until they are transferred to ICE custody.

Trade

• Negotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.
• Agreed to work with the European Union towards zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsides.
• Deal with the European Union to increase U.S. energy exports to Europe.
• Litigated multiple WTO disputes targeting unfair trade practices and upholding our right to enact fair trade laws.
• Finalized a revised trade agreement with South Korea, which includes provisions to increase American automobile exports.
• Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.
• Agreement to begin trade negotiations for a U.S.-Japan trade agreement.
• Secured $250 billion in new trade and investment deals in China and $12 billion in Vietnam.
• Established a Trade and Investment Working Group with the United Kingdom, laying the groundwork for post-Brexit trade.
• Enacted steel and aluminum tariffs to protect our vital steel and aluminum producers and strengthen our national security.
• Conducted 82 anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in 2017 alone.
• Confronting China’s unfair trade practices after years of Washington looking the other way.
• 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China and later imposed an additional 10% tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
• Conducted an investigation into Chinese forced technology transfers, unfair licensing practices, and intellectual property theft.
• Imposed safeguard tariffs to protect domestic washing machines and solar products manufacturers hurt by China’s trade policies
• Withdrew from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
• Secured access to new markets for America’s farmers.
• Recent deal with Mexico included new improvements enabling food and agriculture to trade more fairly.
• Recent agreement with the E.U. will reduce barriers and increase trade of American soybeans to Europe.
• Won a WTO dispute regarding Indonesia’s unfair restriction of U.S. agricultural exports.
• Defended American Tuna fisherman and packagers before the WTO
• Opened up Argentina to American pork experts for the first time in a quarter-century
• American beef exports have returned to china for the first time in more than a decade
• OK’d up to $12 billion in aid for farmers affected by unfair trade retaliation.

Energy

• Presidential Memorandum to clear roadblocks to construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.
• Presidential Memorandum declaring that the Dakota Access Pipeline serves the national interest and initiating the process to complete construction.
• Opened up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration.
• Coal exports up over 60 percent in 2017.
• Rolled back the “stream protection rule” to prevent it from harming America’s coal industry.
• Cancelled Obama’s anti-coal Clean Power Plan and proposed the Affordable Clean Energy Rule as a replacement.
• Withdrew from the job-killing Paris climate agreement, which would have cost the U.S. nearly $3 trillion and led to 6.5 million fewer industrial sector jobs by 2040.
• U.S. oil production has achieved its highest level in American history
• United States is now the largest crude oil producer in the world.
• U.S. has become a net natural gas exporter for the first time in six decades.
• Action to expedite the identification and extraction of critical minerals that are vital to the nation’s security and economic prosperity.
• Took action to reform National Ambient Air Quality Standards, benefitting American manufacturers.
• Rescinded Obama’s hydraulic fracturing rule, which was expected to cost the industry $32 million per year.
• Proposed an expansion of offshore drilling as part of an all-of-the above energy strategy
• Held a lease sale for offshore oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico in August 2018.
• Got EU to increase its imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States.
• Issued permits for the New Burgos Pipeline that will cross the U.S.-Mexico border.

Foreign Policy

• Moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
• Withdrew from Iran deal and immediately began the process of re-imposing sanctions that had been lifted or waived.
• Treasury has issued sanctions targeting Iranian activities and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force
• Since enacting sanctions, Iran’s crude exports have fallen off, the value of Iran’s currency has plummeted, and international companies have pulled out of the country.
• All nuclear-related sanctions will be back in full force by early November 2018.
• Historic summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-Un, bringing beginnings of peace and denuclearization to the Korean Peninsula.
• The two leaders have exchanged letters and high-level officials from both sides have met resulting in tremendous progress.
• North Korea has halted nuclear and missile tests.
• Negotiated the return of the remains of missing-in-action soldiers from the Korean War.
• Imposed strong sanctions on Venezuelan dictator Nicholas Maduro and his inner circle.
• Executive order preventing those in the U.S. from carrying out certain transactions with the Venezuelan regime, including prohibiting the purchase of the regime’s debt.
• Responded to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.
• Rolled out sanctions targeting individuals and entities tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program.
• Directed strikes in April 2017 against a Syrian airfield used in a chemical weapons attack on innocent civilians.
• Joined allies in launching airstrikes in April 2018 against targets associated with Syria’s chemical weapons use.
• New Cuba policy that enhanced compliance with U.S. law and held the Cuban regime accountable for political oppression and human rights abuses.
• Treasury and State are working to channel economic activity away from the Cuban regime, particularly the military.
• Changed the rules of engagement, empowering commanders to take the fight to ISIS.
• ISIS has lost virtually all of its territory, more than half of which has been lost under Trump.
• ISIS’ self-proclaimed capital city, Raqqah, was liberated in October 2017.
• All Iraqi territory had been liberated from ISIS.
• More than a dozen American hostages have been freed from captivity all of the world.
• Action to combat Russia’s malign activities, including their efforts to undermine the sanctity of United States elections.
• Expelled dozens of Russian intelligence officers from the United States and ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle, WA.
• Banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers, due to the company’s ties to Russian intelligence.
• Imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and three individuals for enabling Russia’s military and intelligence units to increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities.
• Sanctions against seven Russian oligarchs, and 12 companies they own or control, who profit from Russia’s destabilizing activities.
• Sanctioned 100 targets in response to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and aggression in Eastern Ukraine.
• Enhanced support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces to help Ukraine better defend itself.
• Helped win U.S. bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
• Helped win U.S.-Mexico-Canada’s united bid for 2026 World Cup.

Defense

• Executive order keeping the detention facilities at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay open.
• $700 billion in military funding for FY 2018 and $716 billion for FY 2019.
• Largest military pay raise in nearly a decade.
• Ordered a Nuclear Posture Review to ensure America’s nuclear forces are up to date and serve as a credible deterrent.
• Released America’s first fully articulated cyber strategy in 15 years.
• New strategy on national biodefense, which better prepares the nation to defend against biological threats.
• Administration has announced that it will use whatever means necessary to protect American citizens and servicemen from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.
• Released an America first National Security Strategy.
• Put in motion the launch of a Space Force as a new branch of the military and relaunched the National Space Council.
• Encouraged North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies to increase defense spending to their agree-upon levels.
• In 2017 alone, there was an increase of more than 4.8 percent in defense spending amongst NATO allies.
• Every member state has increased defense spending.
• Eight NATO allies will reach the 2 percent benchmark by the end of 2018 and 15 allies are on trade to do so by 2024.
• NATO allies spent over $42 billion dollars more on defense since 2016.
• Executive order to help military spouses find employment as their families deploy domestically and abroad.

Veterans affairs

• Signed the VA Accountability Act and expanded VA telehealth services, walk-in-clinics, and same-day urgent primary and mental health care.
• Delivered more appeals decisions – 81,000 – to veterans in a single year than ever before.
• Strengthened protections for individuals who come forward and identify programs occurring within the VA.
• Signed legislation that provided $86.5 billion in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the largest dollar amount in history for the VA.
• VA MISSION Act, enacting sweeping reform to the VA system that:
• Consolidated and strengthened VA community care programs.
• Funding for the Veterans Choice program.
• Expanded eligibility for the Family Caregivers Program.
• Gave veterans more access to walk-in care.
• Strengthened the VA’s ability to recruit and retain quality healthcare professionals.
• Enabled the VA to modernize its assets and infrastructure.
• Signed the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act in 2017, which authorized $2.1 billion in addition funds for the Veterans Choice Program.
• Worked to shift veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Department of Defense, a decades old priority.
• Issued an executive order requiring the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, and
• Veterans Affairs to submit a joint plan to provide veterans access to access to mental health treatment as they transition to civilian life.
• Increased transparency and accountability at the VA by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool,” providing veterans with access to wait time and quality of care data.
• Signed legislation to modernize the claims and appeal process at the VA.
• Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act, providing enhanced educational benefits to veterans, service members, and their family members.
• Lifted a 15-year limit on veterans’ access to their educational benefits.
• Created a White House VA Hotline to help veterans and principally staffed it with veterans and direct family members of veterans.
• VA employees are being held accountable for poor performance, with more than 4,000 VA employees removed, demoted, and suspended so far.
• Signed the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act, increasing the number of VA employees that can assist justice-involved veterans.

The Family Research Council listed these pro-life accomplishments:

To date, the administration of President Donald Trump has taken significant action on issues of concern to social conservatives — life, family, and religious liberty:

2017

• On January 23, President Trump reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy, which blocks funding for international organizations that perform or promote abortion. This new program is known as Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance (PLGHA), which now covers $8.8 billion in family planning and global health funds that go to organizations abroad (none of whom may perform or promote abortion).
• On February 22, the Department of Education, in conjunction with the Department of Justice (DOJ) rescinded President Obama’s guidance that required public schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms and showers of their choice.
• On April 7, President Trump’s nominee Neil Gorsuch was confirmed to the Supreme Court. Justice Gorsuch has already developed a reputation as an originalist who will rule the right way on religious liberty issues. Gorsuch is representative of President Trump’s judicial nominees overall.
• On May 4, President Trump signed an Executive Order Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty (known as the “Religious Liberty Executive Order”), broadly setting forth religious liberty as a policy priority of the administration, and requiring all federal agencies to take action to protect it. The order also more specifically addressed conscience protections, forthcoming guidance from the DOJ, and religious liberty in the context of free speech.
• On August 25, President Trump announced changes to the Obama administration’s Department of Defense (DOD) policy which had allowed military personnel to serve even if they openly self-identified as transgender. (A DOD study found the Obama administration’s policy to be detrimental to military readiness, lethality, and unit cohesion.)
• On September 7, DOJ filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court defending the religious freedom rights of baker Jack Phillips in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. This filing is representative of other actions defending religious freedom taking place throughout the Trump administration DOJ.
• On October 6, DOJ issued guidance and an implementing memo (as instructed by the Religious Liberty Executive Order) to all federal agencies explaining religious freedom law and how religious liberty must be protected. This guidance laid out a broad defense of religious liberty based on multiple statutes and provided each federal agency with guidelines for protecting religious liberty.
• Also on October 6, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed two regulations to deal with the Obamacare “HHS contraceptive mandate” that had for years violated conscience and religious liberty. These new regulations exempt organizations that have moral or religious objections to purchasing insurance that includes coverage of contraceptives and abortion-causing drugs and devices.

  2018

• On January 16, DOJ filed an amicus brief with the District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on behalf of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. The Archdiocese had wanted to promote a religious message during the Christmas holiday but, had been denied advertising space within the District’s public transit system.
• On January 18, DOJ filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue defending the First Amendment rights of parents and students who attend a religious school, to participate in a private school scholarship program.
• On January 18, HHS announced a new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division within its Office of Civil Rights (OCR). This new division was established to enforce federal laws that protect conscience rights and religious freedom.
• On January 19, HHS issued a new proposed regulation on conscience protections related to abortion. Specifically, the regulation proposed to implement 25 laws that protect pro-life healthcare entities against discrimination by federal agencies — or state or local governments receiving federal funds — due to their objections to participating in abortion, sterilization, and other morally objectionable procedures.
• On January 24, Sam Brownback was confirmed as U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. In choosing Brownback for this role, President Trump demonstrated the administration’s commitment to religious freedom by choosing someone with gravitas and experience on the issue.
• On March 23, 2018, the White House and DOD issued a new policy allowing existing personnel to remain in the military while preventing those who have been diagnosed with “gender dysphoria” or had undergone gender transition surgery from joining the military. Those who are transgender and stable for 36 months could join so long as they serve in accordance with their biological sex.
• On April 26, Mike Pompeo was confirmed as Secretary of State. In choosing Pompeo for this position, President Trump chose someone who cares deeply about religious liberty and will make it a priority to see the issue advanced through this administration.
• On April 30, during a press conference with Nigeria’s president, President Trump raised the issue of religious freedom and the killing of Christians in that country — bringing attention to an issue that had largely been neglected by other government officials.
• On May 22, HHS issued a new proposed regulation reversing the Title X family planning regulations implemented by President Clinton. The proposed regulation would restore the separation of abortion services from the federal Title X family planning program, which President Reagan first implemented. The proposed regulation would also ensure parents are more involved in the decisions of minors to obtain services from Title X clinics. It reverses the discriminatory abortion referral requirement the Clinton regulations implemented and is poised to put a dent into Planned Parenthood’s roughly $60 million annual revenues from the Title X program.
• On June 13, DOJ announced the Place to Worship Initiative, designed to increase enforcement and public awareness of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUPIA). This federal law protects places of worship and other religious uses of property. Through this initiative, federal prosecutors will receive training about legal protections for houses of worship.
• On July 24-26, the State Department held the first-ever Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. Political and civil society leaders from around the world gathered in Washington, D.C. for a three-day summit to discuss religious freedom issues and solutions. The Potomac Declaration, issued at the Ministerial, made a strong statement about the state of religious freedom around the globe and provided a plan of action for promoting global religious freedom. The U.S. also announced the International Religious Freedom Fund (to provide emergency assistance to victims of religiously motivated discrimination and abuse around the world) and the Genocide Recovery and Persecution Response Initiative (which has provided nearly $373 million to help persecuted ethnic and religious minorities in northern Iraq restore their communities). The U.S. was among 25 countries who signed a statement condemning terrorism and the abuse of religious believers by non-state actors.
• On July 30, DOJ announced a Religious Liberty Task Force to fully implement religious liberty guidance and policy across all components of the DOJ.
• On August 1, the Trump administration relied on Executive Order 13818 (which builds on Global Magnitsky Act authority) to sanction two Turkish officials over the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson due to his Christian faith. This Executive Order ultimately resulted in Pastor Brunson’s release.
• On September 24, HHS terminated a $15,900 contract with Advanced Bioscience Resources to procure fetal tissue from aborted babies for research. The termination of this contract led HHS to announce an audit of all acquisitions and research involving human fetal tissue to ensure consistency with statutes and regulations.
• On October 6, President Trump’s nominee Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh is the second constitutional originalist the president saw confirmed to the Court.
• On November 7, HHS finalized its two regulations to protect conscience and religious liberty from long-running problems with the Obamacare “HHS contraceptive mandate.” These two final regulations exempt organizations with either a moral or religious objection to purchasing insurance with coverage of contraceptives and abortion-causing drugs and devices. The regulations took effect on January 14, 2019.
• On November 9, HHS proposed a new regulation to address an abortion surcharge hidden in many plans purchased on the Obamacare exchange. This proposed regulation would enforce the requirement that abortion surcharges are to be collected separately from other insurance premiums. This requirement was not closely followed under the Obama administration, leading HHS to now more strictly enforce the separation of abortion payments from other payments.
• On December 26, DOJ filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court defending a publicly-displayed cross-shaped veteran’s memorial that had been challenged as a violation of the Establishment Clause. This position is representative of the Trump administration’s originalist approach to the Constitution concerning First Amendment rights and other issues. Such an approach results in legal analysis that interprets the law rather than injecting policy preferences into it.

  2019

• On January 18, HHS notified California that its law requiring pregnancy resource centers to post notices about how to obtain an abortion violated the pro-life Weldon and Coates-Snowe Amendments. This marks the first time that the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division at HHS found a state in violation of these laws. This demonstrates the administration’s commitment to enforcing conscience protections and its pro-life priorities.
• On January 19, at the request of 169 members of Congress and 49 senators, President Trump sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in which he promised to veto any legislation that weakens current pro-life Federal policies and laws. This letter was a message to the new Democrat ma jority in the House that longstanding pro-life protections like the Hyde Amendment and safeguards protecting the conscience rights of health care providers are not negotiable.
• On February 22, HHS announced final rule changes governing the Title X family planning program. Consistent with federal law, these rule changes ensured that Title X clinics would be financially and physically separate from abortion facilities and would not refer patients for abortions. Since the implementation of the rule, Planned Parenthood and several pro-abortion states voluntarily decided to withdraw from the program rather than quit performing abortions or referring patients for abortions.
• On March 8, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback criticized China’s poor religious freedom record in a speech he delivered in Hong Kong.
• On April 12, the Trump administration’s policy on military service by those with gender dysphoria went into effect. This policy will help halt the deterioration of military readiness, lethality, and unit cohesion caused by social experimentation in the military.
• On May 2, HHS announced a final rule to expand the structure in which federal conscience laws are enforced. In 2011, President Obama issued a rule that enforced only three federal conscience provisions. The new regulation under President Trump covers 25 existing statutes, which will be enforced by the new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division, part of the HHS OCR.
• On May 5, at the World Health Assembly, the Trump administration issued a joint statement on behalf of the United States and eight other nations calling on other countries to join an effort to focus on women’s health issues that unify rather than create dissension among members (like abortion and sexual and reproductive health). This statement was the first action taken under the administration’s new Protecting Life in Global Health Policy (PLGHP), which seeks to build a global coalition to promote women’s health while also protecting unborn life and strengthening the family. This policy works in conjunction with the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance (PLGHA) program, which restricts funding for organizations abroad that perform or promote abortion.
• On May 24, HHS proposed a new regulation that clarifies that discrimination on the basis of sex in section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act was to be interpreted under the plain meaning of the word. Therefore, it does not include “gender identity” or “termination of pregnancy” as set forth by a 2016 Obama administration regulation. The HHS regulation will continue to enforce existing civil rights protections; however, it makes clear that the federal government will not force physicians to participate in gender reassignment surgeries or abortions.
• On June 5, after an extensive audit into fetal tissue research, the Trump administration announced a major change in the enforcement of research contracts. HHS would no longer conduct intramural (internal) research using tissue from aborted babies and would greatly increase the ethics rules and safeguards that govern extramural (external) fetal tissue research contracts. All new external contracts will be subject to a congressionally authorized ethics advisory board, making it much more difficult for fetal tissue research contracts to be awarded by the National Institute of Health.
• On July 16-18, the State Department held the second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a new global initiative, the International Religious Freedom Alliance, meant to provide a way for like-minded countries to work together to advance religious freedom. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai gave a compelling speech condemning the use of technology to track and control the lives of religious minorities. The United States was among 14 signatory countries on a statement of concern about technology and religious freedom. The U.S. was also one of 34 countries that signed a statement of concern on counterterrorism as a pretext for the repression of religious freedom; one of 27 countries that signed a statement condemning blasphemy, apostasy, or other laws that restrict religious freedom; and was one of 46 countries that signed a statement that called upon government officials to condemn attacks on places of worship and to work with religious communities to protect these places. At this event, the State Department and USAID also announced new religious freedom training programs for foreign service officers.
• On July 16, the State Department placed targeted sanctions on Burmese military officials for their human rights and religious freedom violations committed against the Rohingya Muslim population.
• On July 18, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and HHS Secretary Alex Azar issued a joint letter on International Partnerships that called states to join a coalition of countries that seek to advocate against pro-abortion policies at the World Health Organization and the United Nations (UN).
• In August 2019, DOJ filed amicus briefs with the Supreme Court in two important religious liberty cases, R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Bostock v. Clayton County/Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda. Through these filings, DOJ advanced a biologically binary definition of sex and those who operate accordingly, whether because of science or religious belief.
  On August 15, the Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a new regulation that would clarify the scope and application of religious exemptions for federal contractors. Under the Obama administration, the scope of religious exemption at the DOL was severely narrowed. The current DOL relied on the history of our nation’s preservation of religious liberty, the First Amendment, and Supreme Court decisions to re-invigorate the exemption to its historical and constitutional parameters.
• On August 28, the HHS OCR issued a notice of violation to the University of Vermont Medical Center for forcing a nurse to participate in an abortion despite a conscience objection. This marks the third time that the HHS Religious Freedom Division under President Trump has investigated a conscience complaint related to participating in or promoting abortion.
• On September 10, the State Department placed targeted sanctions on Russian officials for their religious freedom violations and torture of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
• On September 23, President Trump hosted a meeting during the U.N. General Assembly and gave a speech solely on the topic of religious freedom. During the speech, he announced a U.S. policy initiative to protect places of worship, pledging an additional $25 million in funding to protect religious sites and relics. President Trump also announced the U.S. would form a coalition within the business community to protect religious freedom. This is the first time a U.S. president has hosted a meeting focused solely on religious freedom at the UN.
  On September 24, President Trump discussed the need to protect religious freedom during his UN General Assembly speech, in which he also discussed China and Iran — two major violators of religious freedom.
• On September 25, HHS Secretary Alex Azar delivered a statement at the UN General Assembly stating that there is no international right to abortion, and that the U.S. does not support ambiguous terms like “sexual and reproductive health” in UN documents.
• On October 7, the Department of Commerce blacklisted 28 Chinese companies whose surveillance technology products are used to systematically oppress and control — and violate the religious freedom — of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, China.
• On October 11, 2019, Attorney General Barr delivered a striking defense of religious liberty at Notre Dame Law School. He noted, “[t]he imperative of protecting religious freedom was not just a nod in the direction of piety. It reflects the Framers’ belief that religion was indispensable to sustaining our free system of government.” The Attorney General proceeded to remind the audience that religion gives us the “right rules to live by.” Barr highlighted the recent attacks on religious liberty, and that the DOJ under his leadership has been fighting back and protecting religious liberty.
• On November 14, the U.S. government lead a statement on behalf of itself and 10 other countries at the Nairobi Summit, once again calling upon the international community to focus on areas of consensus instead of divisive issues like abortion and sexual and reproductive health.
• On November 19, HHS issued a rule removing burdensome requirements that all grantees, including those that are faith-based, must accept same-sex marriages and profess gender identity as valid in order to be eligible to participate in grant programs. This included the adoption and foster care space, where these requirements had been used to shut down faith-based providers of foster care and adoption.
• On November 27, President Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act into law, which affirms Hong Kong’s semi-autonomous status and protects against Chinese government encroachment, which is a threat to Hong Kong’s religious freedom.
• On December 19, the Treasury Department sanctioned two Iranian judges responsible for human rights violations. One of the judges was known to violate the rights of Iran’s Christian and Baha’i religious minority communities
• On December 20, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a final regulation to address the abortion surcharge hidden in many plans purchased on the Obamacare exchange. This final rule aligns federal regulations with section 1303 of the Affordable Care Act, ensuring that consumers know their health care plan covers abortion and that funding for abortion is kept separate from all other covered services.

  2020

• On January 16, HHS Secretary Alex Azar hosted 34 countries for a meeting on how to promote women’s health and protect the lives of the unborn. This meeting followed an invitation sent by Secretary Azar and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to 70 different countries inviting them to join a coalition to oppose international efforts to enshrine abortion as a human right.
• On January 16, the Departments of Education and Justice issued guidance on constitutionally protected prayer and religious expression in public elementary and secondary schools. This guidance ensures that prayer in schools is properly protected and not unconstitutionally prohibited or curtailed.
• On January 16, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent a memo to the heads of executive departments and agencies providing guidance on Executive Order (EO) 1379 8 “Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty.” In order to protect the ability of religious organizations to operate in the public square, this memo required the agencies to review the EO and publish policies on how they will comply.
• On January 17, nine federal agencies (the Departments of Agriculture, Education, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, Justice, Labor,Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development, along with the U.S. Agency for International Development) proposed rules leveling the playing field for faith-based organizations wishing to participate in grant programs or become a contractor. The rules eliminated two requirements placed on faith-based organizations that were not placed on secular organizations.
• On January 22, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services at HHS approved a family planning waiver for Texas to implement a state-run Medicaid program that excludes abortion providerslike Planned Parenthood. This makes Texas the first state to receive Medicaid funding for a family planning program that does not include abortion providers.
• On January 24, President Trump became the first sitting president to give remarks in person at the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. In his address he stated the eternal truth that every child is a sacred gift from God and reiterated his effort to defend the dignity and sanctity of every human life.
• Also on January 24, HHS Secretary Alex Azar announced live at Family Research Council’s ProLifeCon event that HHS issued a notice of violation to California for violating the federal Weldon Amendment by mandating all health insurers provide coverage for abortion. California’s abortion coverage mandate has deprived over 28,000 residents of plans that do not cover abortion. This marks the second time that HHS has issued a notice of violation to California for violating federal conscience laws and is the fourth enforcement action taken by the HHS OCR’s Conscience and Religious Freedom Division.
• In February, the Trump administration filled the role of Special Adviser to the President on International Religious Freedom within the National Security Council. This role was authorized by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, but has remained unfilled for over 20 years since that law’s enactment. President Trump is the first president to dedicate a full-time staffer to this role and fill it on a permanent basis.
• On February 4, during his State of the Union address, President Trump called on Congress to pass legislation that would ban late-term abortions. To highlight the need for this legislation, he invited special guest Ellie Schneider, who was born at just 21 weeks gestation.
  On February 5, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo launched the International Religious Freedom Alliance. The Alliance will unite government leaders from like-minded nations to strategize ways to promote religious freedom and protect religious minorities around the world.
• On February 25, OMB issued a Statement of Administrative Policy strongly supporting two pro-life bills being voted on in the U.S. Senate: the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act and the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. Had Congress passed these bills, the president’s advisors would have recommended that he sign both into law.
• On March 24, DOJ filed a statement of interest in a case protecting women against men intruding on their sporting competitions. The statement made clear that athletic qualifications on the basis of “gender identity” were harmful to women’s sports.
• On March 28, amid the coronavirus pandemic, HHS OCR issued a strong statement reminding health care entities of their obligation to treat persons with disabilities with the same dignity and worth as everyone else. OCR reiterated its duty to enforce current civil rights laws and has already worked with states to remove discriminatory practices from their pandemic health plans.
• On April 2, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback held a special briefing. He called upon China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia to release their prisoners of conscience in light of the contagious coronavirus. Many of these prisoners were imprisoned for their religious faith.
• On April 3, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a FAQ document confirming that churches and religious nonprofits are eligible for assistance like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in the coronavirus relief legislation known as the CARES Act. These clarifying protections ensure organizations would not be discriminated against based on their religious affiliation and would not have to give up their religious freedom in order to participate in these programs. In addition, the administration used an affiliation rule to ensure that large abortion providers like Planned Parenthood would not be eligible for coronavirus relief in the CARES Act.
• On April 14, DOJ filed a statement of interest protecting the religious liberty of church-goers in Greenville, Mississippi. During the coronavirus pandemic, the city of Greenville banned all religious services, even those that were able to abide by social distancing standards with drive-in church services.
• On April 17, the Department of Homeland Security included “clergy for essential support” in its list of personnel and entities deemed “essential” for purposes of responding to the coronavirus. This designation allows clergy and pastors more freedom to continue to operate and serve those around them in need at this time.
• On April 27, Attorney General William Barr directed federal prosecutors to monitor and, if necessary, take action to correct state and local policies that discriminate against religious institutionsand believers while battling the coronavirus pandemic.
• On May 3, DOJ filed a statement of interest supporting the religious freedom of Lighthouse Fellowship Church in Chincoteague Island, Virginia. After the church held a 16-person worship service on Palm Sunday (following strict social distancing protocols), a criminal citation and summons were issued against the pastor pursuant to Governor Ralph Northam’s executive order which banned in-person religious services but allowed large gatherings for businesses like liquor stores and dry cleaners.
• As of May 12, the Trump administration has overseen the confirmation of 193 federal judges, including two Supreme Court justices and 51 federal appeals court judges. Counting seven other judicial confirmations for roles outside the federal court system, President Trump has confirmed 200 judges so far during his time in office. An overwhelming number of President Trump’s judicial nominees have been constitutional originalists, who will interpret the law as written, rather than interpret it according to their personal policy preferences. As judges, these nominees will rule correctly on religious liberty and pro-life issues.
• On May 15, the DOL issued guidance implementing the administration’s Religious Liberty Executive Order and the DOJ religious liberty guidance. The DOL guidance also cited to the OMB memo from earlier this year which directed all grant-administering agencies to detail how they will protect religious liberty in the context of such grants, and included specific action steps to ensure that religious liberty is protected.
• On May 18, USAID Acting Administrator John Barsa sent a letter to the UN Secretary General advocating that the UN not push abortion during the coronavirus crisis. Barsa noted that abortion is not an “essential service,” and there are many actual health needs at this time. Therefore, the United States, which stands with the international pro-life community under the Trump administration, does not look kindly on these efforts to promote abortion.
• On June 2, President Trump signed an Executive Order on Advancing International Religious Freedom, which recognized the promotion of international religious freedom as a moral and national security imperative for the United States.
• On June 12, facing strong opposition from LGBT rights organizations, HHS finalized its regulation that clarifies that discrimination on the basis of sex in section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act is to be interpreted under the plain meaning of the word. Therefore, it does not include “gender identity” or “termination of pregnancy” as set forth by a 2016 Obama administration regulation. The HHS rule will continue to enforce existing civil rights protections; however, it makes clear that the federal government will not force physicians to participate in gender reassignment surgeries or abortions.
• On June 19, the DOJ filed a statement of interest defending the constitutionality of Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act. The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act ensures that only biologically female athletes are permitted to compete in female sports. By restricting male athletes from participating, female athletes have a fair shot when competing.
• On June 24, President Trump issued an executive order to strengthen America’s foster care and adoption system. Among other things, this action seeks to increase partnerships with faith-based organizations to care for children and preserve families.
• On June 29, the White House released a statement condemning the Supreme Court ruling on June Medical Services v. Russo. This ruling concluded that requiring individuals who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at hospitals is unconstitutional.
• On June 30, the White House released a statement praising the Supreme Court ruling on Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. This ruling is a victory for religious freedom, ensuring that religious schools are not discriminated against in state voucher programs.
• On July 8, HHS Secretary Alex Azar issued a statement celebrating the Supreme Court ruling in Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania. The ruling upheld the Trump administration’s expansion of religious freedom protections under the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate.
• On July 9, the Treasury Department sanctioned four current or former Chinese government officials and one Chinese g overnment entity for their abuses against the Uyghur Muslim minority in China.
• On July 21, OCR resolved a religious discrimination complaint against the Prince George’s Hospital Center of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS). Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the hospital denied a patient’s request to have a Catholic priest visit the hospital to provide spiritual care. OCR worked with the hospital system to revise their visitor’s policy to allow religious visitations during the pandemic.
• On July 31, the Treasury Department sanctioned a Chinese paramilitary organization in connection to their human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims in China.
• On August 5, Vice President Mike Pence gave a speech on the importance of protecting life and reaffirmed the administration’s pro-life positions. He also became the first vice president to visit a pregnancy resource center – these centers are valuable lifelines that offer abortion-free services for women facing crisis pregnancies.
• On August 17, the State Department, in coordination with other federal agencies, released a second review of President Trump’s PLGHA Policy, which requires U.S. global health funds recipients to certify that they will not promote or perform abortions. This report reaffirmed the policy’s effectiveness and the U.S. government’s ability to simultaneously protect unborn life and promote better health outcomes for women globally.
• On August 18, the Human Fetal Tissue Research Ethics Advisory Board—which was convened as a part of President Trump’s June 5, 2019 fetal tissue research policy—issued recommendations on the ethics of fetal tissue research proposals. The board recommended against funding 13 of the 14 proposals because of ethical concerns with how fetal tissue from aborted babies would be used. This board will continue to review any new fetal tissue research proposals applying for federal funds.
• On August 20, OCR resolved a civil rights complaint against the state of Utah, helping the state amend their crisis standards of care (CSC) guidelines to ensure the elderly and disabled are not discriminated against when medical resources are scarce. This is now OCR’s seventh resolution helping states create CSC plans that value the dignity of all human life.
• On August 25, USAID released its updated Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Policy with the purpose of “empowering women and girls to participate fully in and equally benefit from the development of their societies.” The updated policy takes into account the biological differences between males and females and recognizes the importance of strengthening “families and communities” to achieving its goal.